Missoula Nissan Hyundai and Leaf Brakes

Not my car, but can happen with abrupt braking!

Many Leaf owners report that their brakes feel "grabby" at low speeds.  That it to say that the brakes either 1)don't act strongly enough or 2)act too forcefully relative to the amount of pressure applied to the pedal.  It's like you're either slamming on the brakes or barely touching them.  It can make your driving less smooth and potentially exposes the Leaf driver to a rear-ending.  It can also result in your passenger's latte ending up outside the cup.

Nissan has recognized this and has a few service bulletins out to correct it.  Because it's a recognized problem affecting the brakes, I assumed the software update would be no cost for Leaf owners.  Safety first, right?

Yeah, we'll charge for that.

Missoula Nissan Hyundai does not agree and charged me $112 for the service.  Yes, I know, I should have at least had verbal confirmation of the cost before I consented to the work.  Or better yet had it in writing.  But I didn't.  My belief is that two parties doing business can both act reasonably.

I haven't noticed an improvement in brake performance, so I called Missoula Nissan Hyundai today and expressed my desire to return the software for a full refund.  I don't know if the service person took me seriously.  It seems reasonable to me that if a customer pays for some benefit and doesn't receive it, he ought not pay.  I believe attorneys say "no conferred benefit, no consideration."

I'm surprised that Missoula Nissan Hyundai even charged for a brake-related software update...it creates the appearance that it cares more about its bottom line than the safety of its customers.  It is quick to tell me that my brake update was "not a recall", but rather an optional performance upgrade to the brakes.

I might remind Nissan that it's cheaper to put safety first, and that it ought to oblige its dealers to do anything remotely safety-related at no cost.  I don't think anyone outside of Missoula Nissan Hyundai believes that correcting a braking defect is an optional upgrade.

Hyundai tried a similar argument when a barely-defective steering knuckle failure resulted in Trevor Olson's Hyundai Tiburon veering into oncoming traffic on highway 93.  The 19-year-old Olson and his younger cousin died in that accident, and the jury was angered to hear Hyundai try to blame the Olsons for the fatal crash.  The result was a lot of bad publicity and a $150 million-dollar judgement against Hyundai.

Upgrading a stereo or adding comfort features are optional, sure.  But brake performance?  Come on, that's safety.

The bottom line is don't give excuses, just fix it.

TCU Upgrade

SIM ID?  We don't need no stinking SIM...

On Thursday, July 28, Missoula Nissan Hyundai performed the TCU upgrade to my 2011 Leaf.  The cost was $199.

Unfortunately the new TCU doesn't work!  According to Nissan technical support, the TCU is missing critical information such as the SIM ID.  Anyone who's used a cellphone knows that, without a valid SIM, the phone won't work.  Technical support said that this information was supposed to be entered at the time of installation, suggesting the technician may have missed it.

I contacted Missoula Nissan Hyundai, and the service department assures me that it did everything per the instructions, so the error must be elsewhere.  I don't care too much where the error is, I just want a working TCU or my $199 back!

I'm frequently asked, "Isn't there a Nissan dealership here in town?  Why aren't you using it?" so allow me to answer that question.

Nissan dealerships don't all work on Nissan Leafs...due to the independent nature of dealerships they can simply choose to opt out, leaving Leaf owners in a lurch with no service center (another reason to end the dealership racket and instead support direct sales ala Tesla).  So even though I have a Nissan dealership in my town (Robert Allen Nissan), I have to go 118 miles away over a mountain pass to get service in Missoula.  Guess who pays to transport the Leaf?  I'll give you a hint: it wasn't the dealership!

Adding insult to injury, Nissan wants me to return the Leaf to Missoula so the dealership and Nissan can correct their error.  Missoula Nissan Hyundai offered no assistance nor did it take any responsibility, but to Nissan's credit it has offered to reimburse transportation expenses.  Being a savvy consumer, I asked Nissan to put that promise in writing.

"Ah, sorry sir, we're incapable of doing that."

Well-played, Nissan!  Now after I pay a second time to transport the Leaf you can deny having made any promises!  I can hear it now...

"Reimbursement?  No you must have talked to the wrong person, we can't do that.  Let me transfer you, and by 'transfer' I mean 'hang up'.  Have a nice day!"

So for the record, I did talk to someone named Jeffrey Cruise on Friday, July 28, and received a case number,  27880601.  During the conversation Mr. Cruise was explicit: if I pay to tow my Leaf to Missoula and back, Nissan will reimburse me.  I called back today, July 31, and spoke to a different customer service rep who confirmed that Mr. Cruise made the promise to reimburse the entirety of the round-trip transportation costs between Helena and Missoula.  I asked if I had to use a particular transportation company and the rep said no.  Mr. Cruise recommended Nissan Roadside Assistance-- they quoted me $476 one-way, so about $1k for the round trip.

If Nissan makes good on its promise, they will have paid $1,000 because of their own internal error-- ouch.  I remember a woodworker once telling me, "I'm a lazy man, I take my time and do the job right the first time."  That wisdom seems to have been missed here.  As I already mentioned, it's an excellent reason to allow car makers to simply own their own stores.  It boggles my mind that Nissan is willing to spend a grand because my local dealership, Robert Allen Nissan, is unwilling to service the Nissan Leaf.  What a waste of money, fuel, and time.

Helena to Missoula

Ok, I didn't drive my Leaf to Missoula-- I towed it using a borrowed Nissan Frontier and a rented U-haul tow-dolly.

The trip went well.  My brother-in-law persuaded me to just borrow his truck instead of trying to drive it from the top of the pass.

I had Missoula Nissan Hyundai Inc perform the TCU upgrade and returned to Helena the same day.  More on that in the next blog post.

Helena to Missoula?

A 116-mile trip.  Not possible for a humble 2011 Leaf with only 10 capacity bars.

Or is it?

I'm going to try it, but I'm going to cheat a little.  I'm not going to charge on the way because there are no EV stations...just an RV place that wants to charge about fifteen times the fair market value for its electricity.  (A three-hour charge costs about $1 in electricity but the RV place wants $15).  No, my only cheat will be to pull the Leaf to the top of MacDonald pass.  After that it will be a slow, 38mph drive to the authorized Leaf dealer in Missoula.

I am going to have the TCU upgrade in order to restore the NissanConnect EV (formerly CarWings). I'm also going to ask for software update to make my brakes smoother, although I'm not sure if it exists for the 2011.  And maybe a brake fluid exchange.

Why am I driving to Missoula when there's a perfectly good Nissan dealership in my town?  My dealership is not authorized to service the Leaf.  So even though Nissan did not engineer the Leaf to travel to Missoula, they require me to take it to that dealer for service.  Thanks for nothing, Nissan.  And I really do mean nothing, as Nissan is offering zero support, zero compensation for the extra hassle.

Is it illegal to drive 38mph on I-90?  No, there is no speed minimum.  However, it's not terribly safe.  The kids are not invited on this trip.

Missoula or bust!